9:11 I Don'T Want To Forget

How bad can it get, don't ask me that question I'm on the 97th floor terrified, hanging from a window, gasping for breath You want to know, how bad it can get On the phone to my wife, saying I love you please never forget Bodies burst in the street below me, certain I am next you still want to know, how bad it can get, My throat has just been cut, on some passenger jet Leading my ladder up a stairwell to die, drenched in sweat Your repeating that question, how bad can it get Searching through rubble, unsure if there's a fingertip left Vaporised into nothing, just a photo for the bereft Disturbing nightmares wake me, shaking and upset, stop asking me, how bad can it get I go to Afghanistan, an IED rips open my chest About to be beheaded in Iraq, as a warning to the west Back on the 97th floor you ask me again, how bad can it get Do I agree with Guantánamo extraordinary rendition, you bet How about collateral damage, they posed no threat Whatever it takes, this fate I'll never accept I'm a civilian too, now I jump burning to death This poem is to remember, some have already forgotten just how bad it can get Originally written 09/05/2021 2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 9 Poetry Contest Sponsored by: Mark Toney 07/23/22